Around The Southland Conference
10/17/2013 4:14:00 PM | Football
Saturday, Oct. 19
Nicholls at Stephen F. Austin*, 3 p.m. (HC; SLCTV)
No. 20 Central Arkansas at Lamar*, 6 p.m. (HC; CSNH)
Southeastern Louisiana at Northwestern State* (HC), 6 p.m.
No. 2 Sam Houston State at No. 9 McNeese State*, 7 p.m. (HC; ESPN3)
Number 2 Sam Houston State visits number 9 McNeese State Saturday in a game that has Southland Conference championship implications the second week of conference play.
Both teams are 5-1 and won their league opener. The Bearkats have won the last two conference championships and McNeese State has already beaten Central Arkansas – the team that shared the title with Sam Houston State last season – on the road.
Now it's the Bearkats turn for a road test. McNeese, which last won the conference title in 2009, has dominated the all-time series between the teams, holding a 24-9-1 advantage all time, including a 12-4 edge at Cowboy Stadium.
Sam Houston has won the last two games in the series on its way to FCS runner-up finishes both years. The Bearkats won 45-10 last year in Huntsville and won 38-14 on their last visit to Lake Charles in 2011 to snap a six-game series win streak by McNeese. The teams play Saturday at 7 p.m., CT, on ESPN3.
It's a full schedule of Southland Conference action in week eight and all four games are homecoming.
In addition to the Sam Houston State at McNeese State game, Nicholls is at Stephen F. Austin at 3 p.m., No. 21/20 Central Arkansas is at Lamar at 6 p.m. and Southeastern Louisiana is at Northwestern State. SFA, which leads the all-time series with Nicholls 22-7 will be trying to extend its five-game series win streak on Saturday. UCA has not lost either of its previous two meetings against Lamar and the Lions will try to win for the second consecutive year against Northwestern State, which leads the all-time series 29-27. A pair of future Southland rivals also play Saturday when UIW visits Abilene Christian.
ESPN3 will broadcast the Sam Houston State at McNeese State game Saturday with Lincoln Rose and Rene Nadeau calling the game.
Three Southland teams are ranked in FCS Polls. Sam Houston State finds itself in the No. 2 spot in both polls for the first time this season. The 5-1 Bearkats are ranked just behind 6-0 North Dakota State, the team it has lost to each of the last two seasons in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Game in Frisco.
The Bearkats already were No. 2 in the Sports Network poll, but moved up a spot in the coaches' poll after their 14-3 win over Lamar and Towson's 45-35 loss to Villanova last Saturday.
McNeese remained No. 9 in the Sports Network poll this week, but jumped one spot in the coaches' poll to No. 10 after Northern Iowa slipped out of the top 10 after its second consecutive loss. Central Arkansas won 31-0 against Nebraska-Kearney to maintain its top-25 ranking. The Bears are No. 21 in this week's Sports Network poll and No. 20 in the coaches' poll.
Sam Houston's Brian Bell is climbing in Southland Record Book. Bell is just the school's career leader in passing yards (6,992) and is just eight yards shy of becoming the 12th Southland signal caller to throw for 7,000 yards.
His 65 career passing touchdowns are tied for seventh in the Southland record book. Bell is Sam Houston's all-time winningest quarterback and has a 35-9 record in 44 starts since 2010. Bell also is only the second quarterback in school history to gain 1,000 career yards rushing. The first was David Kubiak (1,528 in 1967-70).
Bell has rushed for 1,113 to become the 32nd member of Sam Houston's 1,000-yard rushing club. He has 19 rushing touchdowns to his credit. Bell has totaled 8,105 yards offense in his career, which ranks 12th all-time in Southland annals.
McNeese has scored 50 or more points against a Southland team for the first time since a 63-42 win over Sam Houston State in 2009 when the Cowboys defeated UCA. McNeese swept player of the week awards after the winwith Marcus Wiltz winning on offense, Ryan Bronson on defense and Ryan Rome on special teams.
Quarterback Cody Stroud completed 13 of 19 passes for 277 yards and three touchdowns against the Bears. He has now thrown at least one touchdown in 11 consecutive games and became just the fourth player in McNeese history to top the 6,000 career passing yards mark.
